The new wireless water meters cost the municipality of Poppenricht almost 5,000 euros to purchase and a further 700 euros annually for the software, but they make work easier, explains Lothar Rogg from wireless water meter manufacturer Diehl.”>

Although the new wireless water meters cost the municipality of Poppenricht almost 5,000 euros to purchase and a further 700 euros annually for the software, they make work easier, explains Lothar Rogg from wireless water meter manufacturer Diehl.

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The most recent meeting of the Poppenrichter municipal council was about water meters. The new wireless meters cost around 5,000 euros plus 700 euros per year for the software. However, this means that manual reading in the municipal administration will no longer be necessary. In addition, the new water meters do not have to be replaced after just six years, but can remain installed for up to twelve years.

Lothar Rogg from Diehl, Nuremberg, informed about the planned switch to wireless water meters, which saves the staff a lot of work. The end user is spared the need to fill out the meter reading card. If irregularly high water consumption occurs, this can be detected early with the new water meters. Mayor Hermann Böhm added that the Illschwanger Group water association will also switch to wireless water meters from the same manufacturer.

Without much discussion, the municipal council passed the 2024 budget. Mayor Böhm pointed out a decline in trade tax from 550,000 to 400,000 euros, but the income tax share would remain stable at 2.8 million euros. Poppenricht can expect key allocations of 1.3 million euros. “While we were able to forego loans in the last three years, this year we have to plan for a good 1.3 million euros in loans, which leads to a per capita debt of 760 euros,” explained Böhm.

According to Böhm, operating costs, kindergartens and staff, lunchtime care, energy costs and a general increase in costs will lead to additional expenditure in the administrative budget, and the district levy will also rise by 200,000 to almost 1.9 million euros. Böhm noted that the municipality’s financial situation is in order, the cash credit reached its peak at 1.3 million euros at the beginning of November 2023 and that a target surplus of 11,000 euros was generated in 2023.

Böhm highlighted the investments planned for this year, such as for new furniture (around 10,000 euros), for the fire brigade (70,000 euros), for the renovation of the all-weather pitch (350,000 euros), for the forest kindergarten (124,000 euros) and for the soccer field (a good 115,000 euros). The largest items are the new truck for the construction yard (over 300,000 euros), the renovation of Häringloher Straße (400,000 euros) and sewer renovations (around 500,000 euros). Böhm estimated the cash credit permitted for 2024 at up to two million euros. This gives the municipality more leeway for larger, unforeseeable expenses and in the event that promised subsidies are paid out late.

“Our budget is a big challenge, but we are investing in the future, in childcare, infrastructure and education,” the mayor stressed. If the financing of the district, county and municipalities is not restructured, the municipalities will be unable to act in the coming years, warned Böhm. The increase in the district and county levy will affect the municipalities, and major politicians will be called upon to create financial compensation. Otherwise, only small steps will be possible, especially in the north-eastern Bavarian region, if not even a standstill for financially weak municipalities.

CSU parliamentary group spokesman Andreas Kopf said the municipality would have to look for new sources of income. SPD parliamentary group spokesman Michael Gradl warned of a further explosion in costs: “We municipalities are the last ones to go, and the last ones to go are the ones who get the worst of it.”

The local council gave its cross-party approval to two construction projects. In the “Auf der Höhe” development area, a retaining wall must be at least one meter away from the property line, and the local council also approved the construction of office, sanitary and storage rooms made of containers, as well as bulk boxes for material management.

Mayor Hermann Böhm reported on the start of construction work on the shelter of the new forest kindergarten “Neue Heimat”, operated by Learning Campus, which will open in September. According to Böhm, the tar and water pipe work on Häringloher Straße has been approved.

According to the mayor, the meeting of the Regional Planning Association of Upper Palatinate North, to which the Amberg-Sulzbach district also belongs, was about areas suitable for wind energy. The aim of the municipalities is “that we do not lose our planning sovereignty in this process”.

Hermann Böhm announced the celebration of “700 years of Michaelspoppenricht” for 2026, as “Pukkenruit” was first mentioned in documents in 1326. On September 6, 2024, the municipality will train volunteers, and every homeowner can apply for the “green house number” at the ZEN in Ensdorf until the end of September.

At the meeting, the municipal council remembered the recently deceased community messenger Georg Graml, whose helpfulness and friendly nature were known throughout the community, as Mayor Böhm acknowledged.

Roof line:

Budget 2024 of the municipality of Poppenricht

• Total budget: over 10.5 million euros
• Administrative budget: almost 7.5 million euros
• Asset budget: just over three million euros
• Loans for investments: up to 1.3 million euros permitted
• Tax rates: unchanged for property tax 350 percent, for trade tax 380 percent